Emilia Dziubak
, b. 1982
Emilia Dziubak graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań (Poland) and now is mainly known for her children’s books illustrations. Since her debut in 2011 she has illustrated over 50 books by Polish and foreign authors (e. g. a new Polish edition of Mary Norton’s The Borrowers series published by Dwie Siostry). She also worked with publishers outside Poland, for example on Martin Widmark’s Lilla Sticka i landet Lycka published in Sweden in 2016. Besides children’s books she also publishes in many Polish magazines such as Wprost, Przekrój and Art & Business. Before Być jak tygrys [The Secret Life of a Tiger] she illustrated some of the other Przemysław Wechterowicz’s books: W pogoni za życiem [Chasing Life] (Ezop, 2012), Proszę mnie przytulić [Please, Hug me] (Ezop, 2013), and Uśmiech dla żabki [A Smile for a Froggie] (Ezop, 2014). For Proszę mnie przytulić she has received a Warsaw Literary Award in 2014. Her works were presented at Tu czy tam? Współczesna polska ilustracja dla dzieci [Here or There? Contemporary Polish Illustration for Children] exhibition in Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw in 2016 (accessed: January 30, 2017).
More information about the artist and her works see here (accessed: July 3, 2018).
Bio prepared by Krzysztof Rybak, University of Warsaw, rybak.km@gmail.com
Questionnaire
1. What drew you to working with Classical Antiquity and what challenges did you face in selecting, representing, or adapting particular myths or stories?
I assume that the answer would not be original – there is no specific reason for the use of the Roman Colosseum in the book [Być jak Tygrys (The Secret Life of a Tiger)]. I decided to use it because it is well known as a building related to big achievement, important for art history and known by everyone. I wanted to show that the Tiger used his talent to build the Colosseum – something that would impress people of ancient times. I wanted to create something very impressive and find the best way to picture it is using classical content, something known by everyone. It is highly probable that children know what the Colosseum is as well as they know the Eiffel tower.
2. Do you have a background in classical education (Latin or Greek at school or classes at the University?) What sources are you using? Scholarly work? Wikipedia? Are there any books that made an impact on you in this respect?
The books that made impact on my perception of antiquity is a Polish series „Art of the World” („Sztuka świata”), a textbook I learned from in the course of my education, during art history studies. Today I use mainly iconography accessible by the Internet.
3. Did you think about how Classical Antiquity would translate for young readers, esp. in Poland?
I think that this topic is appreciated by children. I am sure that if it is done well, a project about antiquity may interest young people. For sure it should not be a transfer of knowledge consisting of hard facts themselves – more likely something with elements of adventure, humour or with extraordinarily illustrations.
4. How concerned were you with "accuracy" or "fidelity" to the original? (another way of saying that might be — that I think writers are often more "faithful" to originals in adapting its spirit rather than being tied down at the level of detail — is this something you thought about?)
Drawing a classical building does not require paying attention to details [in Być jak tygrys (The Secret Life of a Tiger)]. These are forms known well enough so their shapes, sometimes even contours, suggest immediately the concrete object.
Prepared by Krzysztof Rybak, University of Poland, rybak.km@gmail.com
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